


The night before the battle

by Vault_Emblem



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Genre: First Kiss, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Vulnerability
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-26 17:40:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16686127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vault_Emblem/pseuds/Vault_Emblem
Summary: Forde wakes up the night before their final battle and he finds out that Kyle is absent.Where can he be in a time like this?





	The night before the battle

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I’ll just say it now so it doesn’t come up in the comments.  
> Yes, I use hyphens for dialogues and quotation marks for thoughts. Why? Because this is how we do in Italy, the country I’m from (actually there’s more freedom in Italy and more than one method to use this kind of punctuation but whatever).  
> This is the method I’ve learned and the one I’m used to, and I don’t think I’ll even change it.  
> Please, I beg you, stop pointing it out, it’s starting to get really annoying, especially when that’s the only thing people comment about.

Forde opens his eyes.

Weird; he usually doesn’t wake up in the middle of the night, but he guesses that this night in particular is an exception: at dawn, they will march towards their next battle, their last battle to be more precise.

 

He takes a deep breath but he can’t stop that ugly feeling of anxiety from creeping inside his mind.

He must find a distraction.

 

 

\- Hey, Kyle -, he mutters, sure that the other is awake too, and even if he isn’t, he’s such a light sleeper than even just that should be enough to wake him up.

 

He feels a bit bad doing this to him, but he feels like he’s going to explode if he doesn’t talk with someone. He could go to Franz but he’d rather let him rest; the next day – or that day, he has no idea about what time it is – is a very important one and they have to be in their best shape.

He will still make sure to check on him before they depart, of course.

 

He waits for Kyle to reply, but the other stays silent.

\- Hey… Kyle? -, he tries again, starting to raise himself from the bed.

It’s so dark inside their tent that he can’t see anything, so he carefully walks towards the other’s bed – which luckily isn’t too far or else he would’ve definitely tripped on something – and he tries to touch his companion.

 

What was just a distant thought becomes reality: Kyle isn’t there.

 

All right, Forde, there’s no need to worry; a guy like Kyle would’ve never gotten in trouble in times like this, and Forde can’t help but to laugh at the thought that maybe he ran away. Unbelievable.

Knowing him, he’s either training or he’s been caught up talking strategy with somebody to better prepare for the upcoming battle, which is good and all, but he’s human just like the rest of them – despite how hard he tries to act like he can handle things far better than he actually does – and he needs to rest.

 

 

There’s only one person that can bring his ass back to the tent, and Forde knows fully well that it’s him, so he moves a few steps and he’s out of the tent.

Now that he thinks about it, he hasn’t even bothered tying his hair up, but it doesn’t really bother him too much so he leaves it as it is.

What’s some unruly hair in confront of the big battle they’ll soon have to face.

 

He expects to go through all the camp in order to find him, but actually Kyle’s right outside of their tent. What a nice surprise.

 

He doesn’t seem to have noticed him – a rare occasion for someone so observant – and Forde smirks. It’s time for revenge for all the times that he startled him – and nevermind that technically it’s his fault because he never pays attention to anything.

He studies the situation: Kyle’s crouched on the ground and he has his back to Forde, who also can hear a faint whistling sound. Good, this means that he won’t hear him.

His grin grows even bigger as he jumps towards him, loudly exclaiming:

\- Hey, Kyle! -.

 

The way the other gets startled is the most beautiful thing Forde has ever seen and he can’t help but to laugh at his misery.

 

\- Forde, you dimwit! -, Kyle exclaims, furious, before remembering that he’ll likely wake up the entire camp if he keeps talking this loudly.

\- You almost made me cut myself -, he adds then, lowering his voice, and only then Forde notices that he was intent on carving a piece of wood with a small knife.

\- Sorry, sorry, it was too good to resist -, he apologises after he feels like he can open his mouth without bursting into laughter again.

 

Kyle’s shoulders relax immediately and Forde doesn’t know why he feels so proud of such a small detail, but he’s sure that he can only be this relaxed with him around. Well, he doesn’t really have any way of knowing how he acts when he isn’t around – given that, you know, he isn’t around – but he has this feeling and he wants to believe it.

 

\- What are you doing awake in the middle of night? -, Kyle inquires, snapping Forde out of his thoughts.

\- Funny, I could ask you the same exact thing -, he replies. He said that he was sorry but not that he was going to stop giving him a hard time. It’s one of his favorite pastimes after all.

Kyle glares at him, but he doesn’t seem to have enough energy to keep up the act, so he shrugs, getting back to his work.

\- I couldn’t sleep -.

\- You too, huh? -, Forde mutters, sitting beside Kyle.

 

They both remain silent for a while, and only the sound of Kyle’s knife chopping away pieces of wood can be heard. By this point it seems like he’s not even trying to make a sculpture anymore, just chopping and chopping and chopping…

It’s nice, this silence. This way, they can pretend that it’s just a night like the others, that nothing big will happen the next day – or again, that same day.

 

\- Is it ok if I kiss you? -.

 

At first Forde can only reply with a surprised “uh?”. This isn’t something he was expecting at all.

\- What? Where does this come from? -, he asks, more confused than anything. Nevermind that this is something that he’s wanted to do for a long time and that it feels so surreal that Kyle himself asked him this.

\- I just… -, Kyle starts, but he doesn’t seem to find the right words to explain himself.

He closes his eyes, then, taking a deep breath.

\- I’ll be honest with you -, he says then, looking back at Forde with a very serious expression, - It’s… it’s been a while since I had these feelings for you and if I don’t do anything about them before tomorrow… I feel like I’m going to explode -.

 

Forde doesn’t reply. He doesn’t need to when his lips are pressed closely against Kyle’s.

He’s almost surprised by the instant relief he feels at that contact but in the end, hasn’t it always been like this with Kyle? He’s unshakable, and somehow he always manages to make Forde feel secure; how can he be in peril when his best friend is such a reliable guy?

This time, however, it feels more like a reciprocal thing: both he and Kyle need reassurance, and who better than the other can give them that?

 

He can’t pretend not to feel how trembling Kyle’s hands are when he grabs the collar of his shirt and Kyle can’t pretend not to catch the shaky breaths that are escaping Forde’s lips between one kiss and another.

If they were with any other person, they would’ve never made such a display; if Forde can’t support his own brother, then who can? If they can’t even support prince Ephraim, then who can?

 

There’s no Franz now, no Ephraim, nobody. Nobody expect Forde and Kyle.

In the secret of their intimacy, they can be vulnerable, knowing that they will support each other no matter what.

 

They pull away only once they’re out of breath. Gods, that was intense.

 

\- We should get back and rest -, Kyle mutters once he’s caught his breath, and Forde nods.

\- Yeah, we should -, he agrees as Kyle helps him get up but, as they’re getting inside their tent, he can’t help but to ask, - I know this may be sudden, but is it ok if I sleep with you? -.

\- … Of course it’s ok -, Kyle replies, - Actually… I was about to ask you the same thing -.

Forde chuckles at that. Despite being so different from each other, they’re in sync so often that it’s almost scary.

\- Good, good… So, your bed or my bed? -.

 

It takes a bit to get comfortable – their beds are barely made for one person, let alone two people – but they manage. Actually, there’s something comforting in being this close; just feeling each other’s presence like this is enough to make them feel better.

There’s still a sense of danger looming over them, but at least in the security of Kyle’s embrace, Forde can put these thoughts away and he’s sure that for Kyle it’s the same.

 

They’ll survive.

They have to.

Together, they can.

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't something I usually do but my tumblr blog got accidentally deleted and I made a new one @ bi-naesala, so if you like my fics and you're on tumblr, you can follow me there.


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